$7M sought from victim of brutal Staten Island pit bull attackby Staten Island AdvanceTuesday August 05, 2008, 4:09 PMLawyers for Henry Piotrowski allege the city "failed to take appropriate measures to control the vicious dogs."

Lawyers for the 90-year-old Staten Island man who was mauled July 1 by two neighborhood pit bulls filed a notice of claim against the city seeking $7 million in damages.

Henry Piotrowski was severely injured in the attack in his Port Richmond backyard, which caused the amputation of his left leg, and injury to his face, neck, arms and right leg.

Piotrowski's lawyer, Michael Gervasi of the West Brighton law firm of Russo, Scamardella & D'Amato, filed the paperwork, which is a prelude to a formal lawsuit, alleging the city "failed to take appropriate and adequate measures to control the vicious dogs," despite numerous complaints from other neighbors and 311 and 911 calls about the animals.

"It seems to us it was a danger that was known to the city," and no measures were taken to abate the danger, Gervasi said.

Piotrowski, a widowed World War II veteran and retired shipyard crane operator, who was described as a vibrant and independent person before the accident, remains in critical condition in the intensive care unit at Richmond University Medical Center, West Brighton.

He is barely conscious, his eyes almost never open, and he will rely on a tracheotomy tube to breathe and a feeding tube for nourishment for the rest of his life, Gervasi said.

His left leg was amputated below the knee, and the injuries to his right arm rendered it completely useless, the lawyer said. The arm will not be amputated because Piotrowski's doctors felt he might not survive the surgery.

Gervasi said suits will be brought against others, awaiting the outcome of criminal indictments against the dogs' owners, James McNair and Kim DiPrima.

Kevin Simpson, a spokesman for the city's Law Department, said the agency had not yet received the paperwork but will review the claim when it is filed.